Rag ripper



Patented July 7,1931

PATENT. OFFICE PHIILIP 13-. ROHN'ER,

OF CARROLL, IOWA RAG Merlin A pneatien filed March 14,1929. Serial no.346,997.

This inventionrelates to a device for ripping rags into strips such asmight be used in the'weavin of carpets, rugs and the like, o'rfor anydesirable purpose. 1

Ragsas collected will be ofvarious shapes and sizes,"and beforetheycanbe used, for most purposes it is desirable to form them into" uniformstrips of a predetermined width and accordingly anobject of this in- 10vention is the provision of means to quickly and easily cutor rip onerag after another into strips of the same width, regardless of thedirection of the weave or grain of the cloth;

' Varying uses and conditions may necessitate" a variation inthe widthofthe'strips andanother object of this inventionis the provision ofmeansto easily measure the width of strip desired and cut the cloth to"20 this measurement.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a measuringgage whichfunctions in useas agnide for the strip as it is being cut,which' gageis adjustable instantly.

A further object is the provision of a structure in whicha'razor blademay be utilized as the ripping or cutting medium, andthe device issodesigned as to accommedate any make', shapeor form of safetyrazorbladeasa'outting tool, by making a very" slight adjustment, l I

" The devicealso may readily be usedas a seam or thread ripper, or formany other e purposes, either with or Without the guide. "as To the:attainment of these-and other objects there are provided certainarrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims; Refereneeis to be 4'0had toth'e accompanying drawings, which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic Viewof the invention, i perspective, showing the manmen of its use,

Fi ure 2 is a plan view showing/thereutive position of the'severalparts', o p (Figure. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2,c

E "ar is al' l f s' f i r e y milev us'tiatiiigashghtly'modifiedformarm-verifies. e I

It will be observed that a frame or body 5 is provided with a shoulder 6on its lower side for'pos'itioning the body on any suitable support as atable or bench to which it may be clamped by a clamp 7.

The top of the body may be skived or flattened as at 8 to form a thinnerportion suitable for en agement by the clamp.

A suitable guide such as a groove 9 or other tracking means is providedalong atleast one sideof the body, with which is engageable a flange 10of a slidable member 11. This memher is adapted to form a guide for therags as they are ripped, andto this end is provided with an upstandingabutment or gage element 12 against which the rag edge is placedasindicated in Figure 1.

Finger pieces 13 are illustrated at one end of the slidable member andform a means of manipulating the member when setting the gage fordifferent widths of strips. The member 11 may be held in position by anydesira-ble means, as friction, but if made of spring metal, will retainits position by inherent tension of the flange 10, positioned in groove9. If desired, a set screw might be used to hold the member in position.

The body 5 may be provided with a section 1 1, separable therefrom andwhich is held in place to complete the body by a bolt or screw '15passing through the section into the body.

lVith this construction it will be obvious that ifa razor blade 16 ispositioned between the section 1 1 and the adjacent portion of the body5, the blade can be clamped in position 'by forcing the screw home.

Another way of mounting the blade is shown in Figure 4, in which thebody 5 is slotted as at 17. The blade is' dropped into the slot andclamped by a screw 18.

Regardless of mounting, however, the blade will have one end projectingabove the body 5 and member 11, the latter being cut away as at 19, forthe purpose, The edge of member 11 along the cut out may be graduated ifdesired. 7 a

In the use of the device, the body 5 is damp d o e 'bl Q1 'u'pr r th m b1113 pe'sitiened to locate thegage-m for adearea width an rag- -26 is"placedagainst the gage, and drawn past the cutting edge of the blade. Itwill be seen that'a rag can thus be ripped with straight edges, nomatter in what direction the weave or grain runs, and that anypredetermined width of strip may be obtained, with an assurance ofuniformity in successive strips. 7

WVhenablade loses its utility, it is but a simple matter to substituteanother blade in its stead, and anytype of blade may be used.

The device is also handy as a means of ripping seams, cutting threads,etc., it' being unnecessary in some instances to use the gage and guidemember. This invention is capable of a variatyof uses and modificationsand it is not intended that same shall be limited except as hereinafterclaimed;

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as-Inew and desire tosecure-by Letters Patent of theUnited States is 1; In a deviceforripping rags, the combin-ation of a body member and a cutting member,said body member having a detachable portion effective to engage saidcutting memberand clamp same in the body member, and a guide movable onsaid body member relative to said cutting member, effective to guide arag strip as it is ripped, said guide having a rounded surface adaptedto project under the strip to facilitate movement of the strip, andgauging means on said projection.

means to fasten said body to a support, a

cutter, means to attach said cutter to said body, a carriage slidablealong said body and having a portion adapted to project under a rag tobe ripped,-acalibrated gauge arranged onsaid portion, said portionhaving a slightly rounded surface and means to move said gage relativetotsaid cutter, whereby arag drawn over said body will be ripped by saidcutter to a predeterminedwidth and will be guided by said gage, toproduce astraight edge. Q4. In a device of the character described, abody member including a cutter, a' carriage movable on said body memberto-ward and from said cutter having a portion extending transversely ofsaid cutter, means on' said carriage effective to guide a strip ofmaterial passedover said body membengauge' means on said portion,cooperativefwithsaid cutting meniber to indicate location ofsaid guidingmeans, said carriage, guide means and gauge means being arranged as aunit.

5. In a device of the character described, a body member and acuttingmember, means to detachably clamp said cutting member in said bodymember, a carriage formed of substantially rigid sheet material slidablealong said bodyl-member relative to said cuttingmember, said carriagehaving an upstruck lug effective to guide a strip of materialpassed-over saidbody member, and means to adjust said lug to apredetermined position relative to said cutting member.

6, In adevice of the character described, a body member and a'cuttingmember, means to detachably clamp said cutting member in said bodymember,a carriage formed of substantially rigid sheet-materialslidablealong said body member relativeto said cutting member, said carriagehaving an upstruck lug eifective to guidea strip of material passed oversaidbody member, and'means toadjust said lug to a predetermined positionrelative to said cutting member, and means to clamp saidbody memberto asupport.

7. In a device ofthe character a substantially cylindrical, elongatedbody member,a' cutting member mounted therein and adjacent one endthereof, a carriage partially encompassing said bodymember anddescribed,

slidable therealong, said carriage having a portion cooperative Withsaid cutting vmember to predetermine the width of a strip to be cut.

am a device of the character described,

an elongated body member,-a cutting member mounted therein-Tand adjacentone end thereof, a carriage partially encompassing said body member and,slidable therealong, said carriage having aprojecting portion ex;tending lengthwise of the body member and movable past the cutting edgeof the cutting member, said carriage having an abutment extendingoutwardly from said body and cof operative with said cutting member topredegaugingcmeans located on said projecting portion.

means to position said body member on a support, acutting member mountedad acent the other end ofisaid body member, and a termine the width of astrip .to be cut, and

, 9; In a device of the character described,

van elongated bodymember having at one end a'shoulder and anarmextending beyond said shoulder, said" arm and shoulder providinggauge movable between said shoulder and cutter,to predetermine the widthof a strip to be 011131 w j t =10. In a device of the characterdescribed, an elongated body membe'r having at one end a shoulder. andan arm extendin beyond said shoulder, said armand 'shoul er providingmeans to position saidrb ody member on a supportja cuttingmember mountedadjacent the-other endof said body memben'means operable from the latterend of the body to detachably clamp said cutting member in position, anda gauge movable between said shoulder and cutter to predetermine thewidth of a strip to be cut.

11. In a device of the character described, a body'member having acutting member extending therein with a cutting edge projectingthereabove, a carriage member slidable along said body member and havinga portion extending in front of said cutting member, said carriagemember having an abutment extending outwardly from said body member andefiective to guide a strip of material to be cut, and means on saidportion to indicate the position of said abutment relative tosaidcutting member.

12. In a device of the character described, a body member having acutting member extending therein with a cutting edge projectingthereabove, a carriage member slidable along said body member and havinga portion extending in front of said cutting member, said carriagemember having an abutment extendin outwardly from said body member and eective to guide a' strip of material to be cut, and means on saidportion to indicate the position of said abutment relative to saidcutting member, and a lug extending from said carriage to move the samealong said body member.

13. In a device of the character described, a body member having asemi-cylindrical surface, a cutting member positioned adj acent one endthereof, a groove extending along said body member adjacent saidsurface, and a carriage fitting said surface and having an inturnedflange slidable in said groove, said carriage being provided with meansto guide astrip of material to be out past the cutting member.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

PHILIP B. ROHNER.

